


Breathe In Breathe Out

by matimae



Category: White Collar
Genre: Drowning, Father Figures, Gen, Hurt Neal Caffrey, Hurt/Comfort, Medical Procedures, More Neal whump cause I like making him sufferrr, Neal Caffrey Whump, Oxygen mask, Takes place in earlier seasons probably, There is some comfort though, Whump, Whumptober 2020, Worried Peter Burke, ambulance, just a lil
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-13
Updated: 2020-10-13
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:14:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,940
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26998750
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/matimae/pseuds/matimae
Summary: why is it always the nice days that end up with an ambulance ride?//orPeter and Neal investigate a case which takes a turn for the worse
Relationships: Peter Burke & Neal Caffrey
Comments: 2
Kudos: 94
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	Breathe In Breathe Out

**Author's Note:**

> written for whumptober no.13 (delayed drowning, oxygen mask)

“Just- breathe in the fresh air! It’s a great day! Right...” Neal said, trailing off with a smile.

Peter sighed, he was all too familiar with Neal’s antics. “What do you want?”

“Well, now that you bring it up… There is a new art gallery opening tonight that is just outside my radius and I was thinking-”

“ _After_ we finish the case,” Peter interrupted, “then I’ll think about it.”

They were investigating a string of art thefts around New York that had recently been leaving a trail of bodies. It had become a high priory and a new witness had recently shown up, leading the two down by the harbor to ask her a few questions.

The shipyard bobbed up and down as the tide came in and out. Neal smiled as the smell of the river reached him, in another life he might’ve gone for something calm, and had been a sailor.

Peter led the way to a small apartment near the water, it’s bones barely holding up.

“Hello, Ma’am.” Peter smiled through the cracked door as she hesitated to let them in. “Thank you for sitting down with us.”

She opened the door for the two of them to enter and Neal followed Peter inside, taking note of the surroundings. Although it was a small one-bedroom apartment, each wall was decked out in art and Neal already recognized some of the signature pieces.

“Fan of Monet?” he smiled.

The woman nodded. “Yes. One of my favorite French impressionist, in fact. You like art?” she asked, not expecting the FBI in a tailored suit to share her passion.

Peter chuckled, “Oh don’t get him started! Neal loves art. But, Miss Reeds, we are here to talk about what you might have seen the night of the 12th. I know you have already made a report down at the station, we would just like to ask you a couple more questions if that’s okay.”

She nodded. “However I can help.”

Peter began asking her the routine questions, and Neal stood up from his place on the couch to examine the room. He didn’t really know what he was looking for, but he looked over the small area anyway.

It seemed like an average New York apartment, nothing out of place. Until he noticed a lanyard sprawled across a dresser in her living room. He recognized the blue logo, it was for the Museum of Modern Art- only where Neal used to frequent his days every other weekend as a teenager.

“Miss Reeds, you don't by chance happen to work at the Museum of Modern Art?” he asked, catching eyes with Peter. He already knew the answer. “I think that you seeing our suspect was no accident. Peter, can I talk to you for a second...” Neal beckoned the Agent over to him.

Leaning in Neal whispered, “I think it’s no coincidence that she works there- Peter I think that our guy was trying to track her down.”

“You think she’s the next victim...”

“I don’t want to scare her- but, yeah, I do,” Neal said, trying to keep his voice down best he could.

Peter nodded. “Let’s follow this lead. In the meantime, it can never hurt to take extra safety precautions.”

He walked back to the woman, picking at her fingernails in wait for them. She looked up in anticipation, the panic was not lost behind her eyes.

“Miss Reeds, we think that you may be in some danger. We’re getting you to our headquarters, just until we know for sure, we have to make sure you’re protected.” Peter said, his voice as reassuring as he could manage.

“You’ll be completely safe there, and we will find the man who’d responsible for all of this,” Neal added.

Panic was boiling up inside of her, but Peter and Neal talked her through packing up a bag to take.

“Here- How about this. I’ll go check outside and make sure no ones out there, that way we'll know it’s safe.” Neal offered, although he didn’t _really_ think that the killer was stalking her house, he knew that it would set her mind at ease.

He was greeted outside with a caw of a seagull.

Neal glanced in both directions, no shady characters so far. He knew Peter wouldn’t want him going far so he made a note that he’d just check the shipyard and then go back to the apartment to see how they were doing.

Neal stepped over a white splat of bird poop, he wasn’t too keen on getting it all over his shoes. Used to be Byron's shoes, but still. He wasn’t even sure if he _knew_ how to get seagull crap out of your shoes, better just avoid it and not have to find out.

He walked down the path that slightly descended, taking him further out on top of the water. No one else was even out today, so, nothing technically? Neal figured that it was time to turn back.

Turning around already he saw that Peter and Reeds were already boarding the dock to meet him, bags packed in hand.

“Anything?”

Neal shakes his head.

They begin to walk the halfway back to land, Peter's hand resting on his holster when he sees something move.

Neal stops for a moment and bends down, to get a better look under the boat.

Peter noticed him first.

“Neal!” he shouts, but Neal still doesn’t turn around fast enough before being tackled to the ground by a figure from behind.

The two fall to the ground and tumble into a roll, Neal still doesn’t understand what’s happening he just knows he wants him _off..!_

“Let go of my partner!” Peter shouts again, but the man isn’t listening, and Peter and curses under his breath because he can’t do anything with his gun because there was a possibility he could hit Neal at any moment...The helplessness idea frustrating him out of his mind Peter abandons the idea of using a gun at all and jumped into what looked like the junior league wrestle fest, trying to pull out Neal from under the man, only succeeding to get a boot in the gut.

The thing about struggling on a sidewalk on a dock on the water is- the chances of falling in are high. _Extremely_ high.

The killer slams Neal’s head against the dock, and when he slips so does the man and they both go off into the dark swirling abyss below.

“Neal!” Peter runs and sheds his gun, diving in after the sinking younger man.

Neal’s eyes shot open.

He breathed in cold water and immediately try to cough it out, panic swelling in his eyes as he realized what was happening.

Sputtering and struggling he tried to remember to kick, but he didn’t know which way was up.

Neal felt like his head was going to explode, terror locking his joints- he couldn’t move- he couldn’t breathe- he- he-

He felt a hand on his collar, reaching through the waters, pulling him up.

Peter yanks him out of the water, Neal barely able to stay afloat by himself, Peter pushes him over the ledge back onto solid land.

Neal curled in on himself, coughing and sputtering up the river water, his wheezing desperate his eyes found Peter.

“Breathe, just breathe...” Peter said, trying to get the younger man to calm down.

Peter puts his foot on the dock and hoists himself up, his eyes never leaving Neal. His head was still bleeding pretty badly from when he took the shove back on the dock earlier- and the kid still looked like a fish out of water.

“Just...keep breathing, okay?”

Peter looks from Neal, who lay- still trying to catch his breath- on the seagull scatted dock, to their suspect who now was climbing up the dock farther down.

He was getting away.

Shit.

“Okay...Reeds, watch after Neal, I have to go after him.”

Peter doesn’t wait for a reply before sprinting after the man, water was flung off of his shoulders as he flew down the dock- not holding back at all, _he couldn’t let him get away._

The Agent was within arms distance of him now, he could hear his labored breathing ahead of him.

“Hey! Stop!” Peter shouted.

The man kept running and Peter was almost out of options, he geared up and braced for a lunge before tackling the man to the ground.

“You..are under arrest...” Peter said breathlessly, removing his sopping wet handcuffs and placing them around his wrists. They’d have to do for now.

“Follow me,” Peter sighed, exasperated with the man. He led him back down the dock towards Neal, he couldn’t let either out of his sight. For very different reasons.

“Is he okay?” the Agent asked as he approached the two.

The woman was still in a high state of panic, tears staining her face. “I don’t know what happened! He was breathing fine and then he started coughing up water, and then he- he’s not responding...”

Peter looked down at Neal who lay suspiciously still on the dock, and suddenly the Agent couldn't feel his own legs.

“I-I called an ambulance...it should be here soon...” Miss Reeds continued, still distraught.

Peter swallowed and nodded, taking a knee to get closer to Neal. “You did everything right.” He said to her, there was nothing she could’ve done to prevent it. Neal just needed extra help right now.

His heart stuck in his throat Peter felt like he himself couldn’t breathe, but he had to check. He put his two fingers against Neal’s neck to check for a pulse.

_Nothing._

.

.

_thump thump_

Peter audible sighed with relief. “Thank God,”

Sirens in the distance revealing that help were on its way. Peter just kept a hold of the younger consultant, as if releasing his grip on him would make his heart stop beating any faster.

“Neal? If you can hear me, just...hang in there. Okay?”

Peter looked up to see the paramedics arrive and unload the stretcher.

“Just hang on Neal...”

Peter steps aside as they start the chest compression's and soon there’s an oxygen mask plastered on his face, and Peter feels sick.

He can’t help thinking that if he only did something more...that he could have protected him...

“You’re gonna be okay, Neal.” but it felt like Peter was saying it to a corpse.

…

Neal awakes to the consistent thrum of an IV drip.

He zones in and out before his hazy mind can focus on one just thing, _the fact that he was in a hospital?_

Peter was there. That made Neal’s heart-rate settle. The Agent was slumped in his chair, his head resting in his hand. He must’ve sensed that the other man had awoken because something brought him out of his slumber.

“Neal! You’re awake.” Peter said, rubbing the sleep out of his own eyes.

“Yeah, are you?” Neal laughed, trying to break the tension.

A tight smile spread across Peter’s face. “Long night. Do you remember much?”

Neal shook his head.

“Well, turns out you got a good deal of water in your lungs. Made things complicated.” Peter paused and looked down.

“I thought I lost you there for a second.”

_Well, that's kind of terrifying._ But if Neal had learned anything over his course of life was that when life gave you a second chance, you don’t dwell on the past.

Neal just chuckled and gestured to his anklet, “You know you have a tighter leash on me than _that_ Peter. Can’t lose me that easy!”

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading!


End file.
